26 | JUNE 3 • 2021 

OUR COMMUNITY

J

ews at home and abroad 
face an increased level of 
antisemitism online and 
in person in wake of the recent 
violence between Hamas and 
Israel. With the deluge of mis-
information and vitriol being 
shared, it has been more com-
mon for people to not share 
an opinion or fact about the 
situation for fear they will be 
verbally or physically attacked.
A group of 20 Metro Detroit 
high schoolers have been 
able meet the moment thanks 
to their participation in the 
inaugural cohort of a program 
with the American Jewish 
Committee (AJC).
Leaders for Tomorrow 
(LFT) is AJC’s education and 
advocacy program for teens 
entering their sophomore or 
junior year of high school. It 
enables young Jewish lead-
ers to advocate on behalf of 
the Jewish people, Israel and 
human rights around the 
world, as well as to serve as 
positive change agents for 
their peers and community. 
Participants build a strong 
Jewish identity and leave the 
program equipped to advo-
cate anywhere from TikTok to 
Capitol Hill. Active in 16 cities 
in the United States, LFT came 
to Detroit last fall due to a gift 
from the William Davidson 
Foundation to AJC. 
Throughout the school year, 
students took part in several 
experiential, discussion-based 
sessions every few weeks.
Over the last several weeks, 
cohort members were able to 

use the tools they learned in 
the program in real time. 
“I had one student reach out 
to me with an Instagram post 
from a peer that contained 
antisemitic tropes and misin-
formation about the conflict,” 
said Hannah Goodman, AJC’s 
Detroit Young Leadership 
associate. “She wanted to 
respond but did not know 
what to say. I 
asked her to send 
me a draft of how 
she wanted to 
respond. What I 
received from her 
was completely 
spot on without 
my help. That is a direct tes-
tament to the LFT curriculum 
and leadership skills of these 
teens.”
Members of the cohort came 
from public schools, Jewish 
day schools and secular pri-
vate schools and practice their 
faith on a spectrum. Each also 
brought with them a different 
relationship with Israel and 
experience with antisemitism.
“Having a diverse group 
of students was crucial to 
the LFT Detroit experience,” 
Goodman said. “I found that 
our high schoolers have a clear 
desire and need for nuanced 
conversations around Israel 
and antisemitism, especially 
before stepping onto a college 
campus. With BDS move-
ments growing stronger and 
more vocal, Jewish students 
are finding themselves on the 
defensive.”
Elana Hochbaum, a current 

junior at Farber Hebrew Day 
School, applied to LFT to gain 
the skills she will need to be a 
good advocate when she inev-
itably leaves her comfortable 
community.
“I’ve been lucky enough not 
to have to deal with very much 
antisemitism in my day-to-day 
life,” she said. “I have grown 
up in a very supportive Jewish 
community. I live in a neigh-
borhood that has many Jews, 
I go to a Jewish school and 
most of my friends are Jewish. 
I know antisemi-
tism is much too 
common an occur-
rence in these 
times and I hear 
about it often, but 
because I live in an 
insulated Jewish 
community, I haven’t had to 
deal with it directed toward 
me … I know this will change 
when I go to college.
“I learned some Israeli and 
Jewish history, which provides 
context to the issues we face 
today, how anti-Zionism and 
antisemitism can overlap and 
how someone can criticize 
Israel’s government without 
questioning Israel’s right to 
exist. I’ve gained skills in 

advocacy and learned that 
advocacy doesn’t just mean 
pushing facts into someone’s 
face … Advocacy takes many 
different forms.” 
Danny Samson’s daughter, 
Abby, 16, was also in the LFT 
cohort. “During this past 
year, Abby has 
adopted a greater 
sense of awareness 
regarding press-
ing Jewish issues, 
such as antisem-
itism and the 
Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict. She has developed 
a strong interest in advocat-
ing for herself and for others 
regarding issues she believes 
important,” she said.
“We are hopeful that Abby 
will use the LFT program as 
a foundation to continue to 
develop leadership skills and 
to help her play a meaningful 
role in the Jewish community 
and community-at-large.” 

Applications for the second cohort, 

which will begin in the fall, are due no 

later than June 15 and can be com-

pleted at https://www.ajc.org/lftinfo. 

Preference will be given to incoming 

sophomores and juniors. Contact 

Hannah Goodman at goodmanh@ajc.

org with any questions.

Applications being taken now
for second cohort that begins in the fall.
Leaders for Tomorrow

Hannah 
Goodman

LAUREN GARFIELD-HERRIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Elana 
Hochbaum

Abby 
Samson

